Cargo net

ABSTRACT

A cargo netting having a knotted bottom webbing and an upper knotted rope strand section. The bottom webbing is flat to reduce abrasion and wear and tear. The bottom webbing attaches to a cargo pallet using pallet attachment fittings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The field of the present invention relates to aircraft cargo nets.

Aircraft cargo nets are used primarily to restrain cargo in aircraftafter the cargo has been placed on an aircraft pallet. Today, virtuallyall aircraft cargo nets are made of rope fabricated into a largediamond- or square-patterned net structure. Initially, the nets wereconstructed entirely of woven webbing stitched together at theinterstices to form the patterned net structure. Then, for reasons ofcost and ease of manufacture, knotted rope replaced thestitched-together webbing as the material of choice for commercialaircraft cargo nets approximately twenty-five years ago. Since then,cargo nets comprising webbing have seen little, if any, commercial useas rope nets have been used almost exclusively.

In use, cargo nets are subjected to substantial wear and tear. Theenvironment in which cargo nets are used creates extensive abrasion onthe net structure. Cargo nets may be significantly damaged by exposureto extreme weather conditions, repeated attachment and removal fromcargo pallets, dragging across tarmacs and floors, and being run intoand over by machinery such as forklifts. As a result, the life span of acargo net may be drastically reduced.

The purpose of the cargo net, of course, is to hold the cargo in placeon the pallet not only during the loading and unloading process, butalso during flight. Planes must maintain balance within certain limitsto remain flight-worth, and if cargo nets failed during flight leadingto a sufficiently large shifting of cargo and hence weight within thehold of an airplane, the plane's ability to fly could be compromised.Indeed, there have been plane crashes there were attributed to shiftingof cargo.

Therefore, cargo nets are frequently inspected, and if damaged or worn,must be repaired or replaced. That creates cost and delay, and istherefore to be avoided to the extent possible.

Not surprisingly, it is the lower rope section of the cargo net, whichis that section nearest where the cargo net attaches to the pallet, thatsuffers the most abrasion and wear and tear. The abrasion and wear andtear on this section of the net has several sources, with palletattachment fittings causing the bulk of the damage by continuouslyrubbing against the ropes they are attached to. When the cargo net isnot attached to an aircraft pallet, the fittings may slide freely backand forth along the rope and cause minor abrasions. When a cargo net isattached to a pallet, the net is tightened about the pallet and itscontents. Tightening the net creates a great deal of additional pressurebetween the fittings and the ropes. The additional pressure onlyexacerbates the abrasive effect the fittings have on the ropes,especially as the pallet is moved and jostled about duringtransportation. Thus, the fittings steadily deteriorate the condition ofthe ropes they are attached to until the cargo net becomes unusable. Therope, being round, tends to allow the fittings to move more easily alongthe rope, and tends to concentrate the abrasion from the fittings on oneside of the rope, thereby hastening to extent of the damage.

Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved air cargo net thatexhibits increase resistance to the wear and tear to which the nets areroutinely subjected.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a cargo net in which the upper sections of thenet, that is the portions that in normal use will reside on the top andupper sides of the cargo on the pallet, being constructed ofconventional knotted rope, but with the lower section of the netconstructed with webbing. The rope and webbing sections are preferrablyjoined together by knotting. Preferably, the webbing is flat on bothsides. The flat sides of the webbing reduce the wear and tear on thelower section of the cargo net by spreading the abrasive forces over alarger surface area. Reducing wear and tear on the lower section of thecargo net increases the life span of the cargo net.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention, on the very lowestsection of the net; that is, the section that is attached to thefittings, is comprised of webbing. Alternatively, a larger section ofthe cargo net or the entire cargo net could be comprised of knottedwebbing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a cargo net as it exists in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a close up of a cargo net with a bottom webbing according to apreferred embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a close up of a cargo net according to an alternativeembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a cargo net 11 as it exists in the prior art.Previously, cargo nets have been fabricated entirely of strands of rope21. The strands are joined together 23 at regular intervals to form alattice 25 of diamond shaped openings that is shaped like an open endedcube to fit over the pallet 27 and its contents 29. The rope comprisingthe bottom-most section 31 of the lattice 25 passes through a pluralityof pallet attachment fittings 33, with one pallet attachment fitting 33preferably positioned in each section of the diamond of the lattice 33on the bottom section 31. In some usages, the fittings 33 are notattached to each section, but every other section. The fittings 33 areused to anchor the cargo net 11 to the pallet 27 and secure the contents29 for transport.

FIG. 2 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention. Unlike thecargo net illustrated in FIG. 1 which is fabricated entirely of rope,the bottom section of rope is replaced with a flat webbing 103. Theupper section 110 of the cargo net 101 comprises strands of rope 105joined together to form a lattice 107 of diamond shaped openings in theshape of an open ended cube. The webbing 103 is joined into the rope 105at the open end of the cube to extend the lattice 107, thus forming thebottom section 111 of the cargo net 101. The knots 113 between the rope105 and the webbing 103 are the same as the knots 115 in the uppersection between strands of rope 105. The webbing 103 passes through aplurality of pallet attachment fittings 117, with one pallet attachmentfitting 117 positioned in each section, or alternatively every other orevery third section, of the diamond of the lattice 107 on the bottomsection 111.

Using webbing in lieu of rope for the bottom section provides the cargonet with increased resistance to abrasion. The webbing's flat surface isless readily abraded by the rubbing and pressures caused by the palletattachment fittings because the flat surface spreads the abrasive forcesout over a greater area. The increased surface area of the webbing alsohelps prevent wear and tear caused when the cargo is dragged acrossairport floors, ramps, and loading areas. The fittings also tend to notmove on the webbing as much as with the rope, so the webbing issubjected to less wear and tear.

The webbing 103 is preferably constructed from a nylon or polyestermaterial, however, other materials may be used including, but notlimited to, polymeric reinforcing fibers such as Kevlar®, or Spectra®,or any other material which can be manufactured into a webbing, hasenough flexibility to be joined into the lattice, and serves the needsof the user. Preferably, the tensile strength of the webbing 103 isapproximately equal to or greater than that of the rope 105 used for theupper section. However, because the webbing 103 has an increasedresistance to abrasion, webbing with a strength rating less than that ofthe rope may be used. The webbing 103 may also be specifically treatedto give it additional abrasion resistance, but whether or not thewebbing 103 is treated depends primarily on the needs of the user.

FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative embodiment in which a cargo net 201comprises additional sections of rope replaced by webbing. Two or moresections of the net may comprise webbing, or alternatively the entirecargo net may comprise webbing. The amount of webbing included in thecargo net is entirely within the discretion of the manufacturer anduser.

Incorporating the webbing into a cargo net is a relativelystraightforward process. A cargo net having a bottom section comprisingwebbing may be fabricated in the same manner as a rope cargo net withonly minor adjustments in the fabrication technique. These minoradjustments are needed to account for the flat shape of webbing.

Thus, a cargo net with a bottom webbing is disclosed. While embodimentsand applications of this invention have been shown and described, itwould be apparent to those skilled in the art that additionalmodifications are possible without departing from the inventive conceptsherein. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except in thespirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cargo net comprising: a first sectioncomprising a plurality of rose strands joined together at regularintervals to form a lattice; and a second section comprising a webbingjoined to the first section.
 2. The cargo net of claim 1, additionallycomprising a plurality of pallet attachment fittings, attached to thewebbing.
 3. A cargo net comprising: an upper section comprising aplurality of ropes joined together at regular intervals to form alattice of diamond shaped openings, said lattice being in the shape of acube with an open end; a middle section comprising a plurality of firstwebbing joined into the open end of the upper section, the plurality offirst webbing extending the lattice of diamond shaped openings; and abottom section comprising a second webbing joined into the middlesection, the second webbing extending the lattice of diamond shapedopenings.
 4. The cargo net of claim 3, additionally comprising aplurality of pallet attachment fittings, wherein the second webbingpasses through one of the plurality of fittings at each of the diamondshaped openings.
 5. A cargo net, comprising: a webbing formed by aplurality of flat webbing strands attached to each other by knots; and aplurality of pallet attachment fittings attached to at least one of thewebbing strands.
 6. A cargo net comprising: a first section having afirst plurality of flat strands joined together at knots spaced apart atregular intervals to form a lattice; and a second section joined to thefirst section and including a plurality of pallet attachment fittings.7. The cargo net of claim 6 wherein the second section also comprises aplurality of flat strands joined together at knots, so that the secondsection is integral and continuous with the first section.
 8. A cargonet comprising: an upper section including a plurality of rope strandsjoined together at regular intervals to form a lattice pattern, theupper section configured to be placed over a plurality of itemspositioned on a pallet; and a bottom section including a webbing joinedto the rope strands.
 9. The cargo net of claim 8 further comprising aplurality of pallet attachment fittings on a lower portion of thewebbing for attaching the webbing to a pallet.
 10. The cargo net ofclaim 9 wherein the lower portion of the webbing passes through theplurality of pallet attachment fittings at regular intervals.
 11. Thecargo net of claim 10 wherein the pallet attachment fittings areslidable along the lower portion of the webbing.
 12. The cargo net ofclaim 8 wherein the plurality of rope strands and the webbing form acontinuous diamond-shaped lattice.
 13. The cargo net of claim 8 whereina plurality of the rope strands are knotted to the upper portion of thewebbing.
 14. The cargo net of claim 8 wherein the upper section of thecargo net forms an open ended cube.
 15. A cargo net comprising: aplurality of first flat webbing elements; a plurality of second flatwebbing elements; with the second flat webbing elements adjoining thefirst flat webbing elements at knotted intersections to form a webbingstructure; and a plurality of pallet attachment fittings attached to thewebbing structure.
 16. The cargo net of claim 15 wherein substantiallyeach first flat webbing element is continuous with the second flatwebbing element.
 17. The cargo net of claim 15 wherein the first flatwebbing elements are parallel to each other.
 18. The cargo net of claim17 wherein the second flat netting elements, are generally perpendicularto the first flat netting elements.